Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Montesa's Marland Whaley was runner-up with a score of 118, Although tough sections caused him to drop 96, Bernie Schreiber won. Bionic Bernie a treat at trickyfive test By Cosgrove Gilmore Photos by len Weed LITTLEROCK, CA, OCT. 28 World Champion Bernie Schreiber didn't wear funny clothes or a mask - just his race-face as he climbed upon the pegs for his first competition since September 16. That's when he · hed h' . I . C h i cI .me . lS~lt e m zee OS ovakla. ThIs time out he could understand the language better. The fourth annual V. O.T. E. 8 , Trick or Treat Trial nicked Bionic Bernie for 96 markers in 59 rides. In contrast, the champ dropped just 15 points while riding over 100 sections in Cucho-Iand. . . ~Iber dropped 26 of a possIble 65.potntson the flrStlOOP to open a 16poInt lead over Dan Suffin. The next best tab was Scott Head's 44. Marland Whaley and An~ Plouffe each accum~lated46 potnts. . Berrne also turned m the best second loop, dropping 50, then coasted home as ~Iey, Suffin and ~lou~e underscored him on the final CirCUIt. Marland finished the day 22 off the pace, with lI8. Suffin took third with 122 while Plouffe, 154, topped Head by two for fourth. CoincidentaUy, this quintet ftnisbed in the same order in _~ rw).JiIJJmmqwt ~ How severe were the Expert sections? How cold is an iceberg? Only one of the 12 World Championship trials this year had a higher winning score than Schreiber's 96. Cleans £lined with joining the d~o o~ the extinction list. There were JUSt eIght on the first loop. That count dropped to. four on the next lap, three by SchreIber and one by Mike Bernbaum. On the; final lap the count rose to seven, makmg a total of just 19 Expert cleans for the day. The World Champ finished the day with only seven perfect rides in 59 attempts. The Trick or Treat was touch and go until the' rain came a few weeks before the trial date. Earlier in the month the Forest Service, concerned over fire hazard, had requested a postponement of the V.O.T.E.'s Expen Only Trial at the same site. That trial has been rescheduled at Little· rock on Saturday, December 8, the day before El Trial de Espana at Saddleback Park. The Expen Only is ~~~.t.0~ ~'1!. {i~ .o.r.~. p{ .t!te I nation's top eight ranked riders this year. The rugged, not so little rockery of Littlerock, located on the periphery of the Mojave Desert, treated SoCal footers to an unusual section sight. Water. Ten of the 15 Expert sections favored Wellie wearers. A total of 22 sections were laid out over the 14-mile course that drew 75 staners. A V.O.T.E. rider also topped the Amateur c1a5s. Actually, two of them, Mark Bernbaum and Wolf, tied for best score. Berbaum got the nod on cleans with seven. It was a remarkable display for both. Bernbaum was making his debut in the Amateur class while it was only Wolfs second stan since leaving the Novice ranks. Four points behind the pair was Scottish rider John Bushwonh aboard a Beamish Suzuki. Bushwonh, a Scot who rode this year's Scottish Six Days Trial, is over for an extended visit. Expen Jeff Fish was aboard another Beamish Suzuki, sponsored by its imponer, Knobby Shop International. Jeff, who finished 10th in the nation in 1977, was making just his second start in two years. He suffered a serious leg injury at the 1977 Trick or Treat, colliding with a trail rider on the loop. Despite the rust, Jeff finished a creditable sixth. Gil Smith. ranked number three in this year's National Senior competition. t~~ .~.~~~ '~)" .~q( .'{om I Hascker. Joe Ige, longtime V.O.T.E. stalwart, ~ook a day off from the trenches to compete. He fmished third, ahead of the eternally effervescent Art Webster. Dean Hamhrick headed the Senior B's, a three-point victor over Wayne Emge. Mike Lauxen was top Novice. Perhaps his five point win margin left runnerup Craig Smith contemplating his T-sbin, which read: Failure Analysis Associates. Adding - to the international flavor of the day was another visitor, Luis Nieto of CoIomhia. He placed eighth among the Novices. Meanwhile, a tight tussle among the Beginners saw Wayne Scott top Eric Soderquist by two points. The St. Christopher's Open ROad Wayfarers Award was presented to Dan Suffm who came aU the way from Pittsburgh. WeU, it wasn't Willie StargeU's Pittsburgh, just the one in nonhern Calfiornia, but that's still a 4OO-mile drive for the opponunity of dropping 122 points. Dan is a regular show at V.O.T.E. trials. He likes tough workouts. It is also rumored that he hires Russian ballet dancers to beat on him with whips. Runnerup for the St. Christopher's award was Bob Miller of San Luis Obispo. Bob's shop has sponsored Lane Leavitt for the past two years and is also partners with him in their Section One Products liDc for ~. Son Bim came along 1 0 ~:., , > J